Latch mechanism for locks.



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W. A. RUSSELL & A. G. WBISER. LATCH MBGHANISM PoR LOCKS.

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PLANDGRAPH co., WASH Na W. A. RUSSELL & A. G. WEISER.

LATCH MEGHANISM FOR LOCKS.

APPLICATION PILBI) JULY 15, 1912.

1,074,296. Patented Sept.30,1913.

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WILLIAM A. RUSSELL AND ABRAHAM GRANT WEISER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,

ASSIGNORS TO THOMAS-RSSELL LOCK COMPANY,

A CORPORATION `OF CALIFORNIA.

OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,

LA'I'CI-Ir MECHANISM FOR LOCKS.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Application led July 15, 1912.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, VmLIAivrAJ RUSSELL i and ABRAHAM GRANT Wnisnn, citizens of the United States, residing at county of Los Angeles, State of California,

have invented new and useful Improvements V1n Latch Mechanisms for Locks, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relatesv to an improved latch mechanism for locks; and particularly to improvements in latch mechanisms for the locks set forthr in United States Letters Patent for door locks issued to William H.`

Thomas on July 27th, 1909, No. 929,637. And the particular and prime object of this present invention is the provision of simple and efficient means whereby a thumb latch mechanism is incorporated and combined Vwith locks ofthe general character referred to, said latch mechanism including a means to throw the thumb latch into and out ofl operation. Inl the patent referred to there is shown a mechanism including a latch bolt, a hub operated by a knob, and a hub lever operated by the hub to operate the latch The complete combination includesA bolt. also the hub bolt and its locking mechanism; but the hub bolt and its parts do not enter directly into this present invention.

The present invention comprises a mechanism wherein the thumb latch operates directly upon the hub lever, or an extension thereof, and a movable stop lug which may the path of the thumb latch so -as to render it inoperative or operative. We have shown'certain preferred forms of this mechanism, and will proceed to give a detailed explanation f those forms in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure 1 is a vertical section taken as indicated by line 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a face or edge view of a lock embodying our invention as it appears set in a door. Fig. 3 is a section taken as indicated by line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. i is a viewshowing portions of the mechanisms shown in Fig. 1 andV showing a modified form of means for throwing the thumb latch into and out of operation. Fig. 5 is a section taken as in- Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing anothermodiiied form of device. Fig. 721s a view simi- Los Angeles',

. an op ening the hub lever;

lar to Fig. 4: showing a still further modi* fied form of device.

In the drawings 10 designates a mortise lock case having mortise face plate 11 through which thefdead bolt 12 and latch bolt 13 are adapted to project. Dead bolt 12 is operated in any suitable manner, the details of this operation not entering into the present invention. It will herein suiiice to say that a suit-able mechanism operating through the aperture 141 in the case serves to move the dead bolt in and out of the lock, and serves also to move the upper end 15 of the hub lever 16. Hub lever 16 is attached at 17 to the shank 18 of latch 13 and is itself pivoted on the case 10 at the point 19. A suitable spring 20 serves to keep the hub lever 15 and the latch bolt 13 in the position shown. Hub 21 has two lugs 22 and 23 which engage with the hub lever to move it to the left in Fig. lupon rotation of the hub in either direction. This much of the constructionis generally included in the patent referred to, although there have been some improvements in specific details since the issuing of this patent. The lower end of hub lever 16 is now preferably provided with an extension 25 which projects out into 26 in the lower edge of the case 10. The thumb latch 27 engages the under surface of this extension 25 at such a point that the operation of the thumb latch in the ordinary manner will cause the movement of the hub lever about its pivotal point in the direction indicated, the thumb latch engaging the hub lever at a point to the right of and below the pivot 19.

Our invention comprises` broadly a stop lugadapted to move over the thumb latch and prevent its upward movement to move and a manually operable move this stop lug into and out of 'In Figs. 1 and 2 we have shown a form of this mechanism. The

means to position. preferred stop lug is pivoted at 31 to the cover plate 10d of the case 10; and the lug is of such size and configuration and is so pivoted relatively to the hub lever that it may stand either inthe position shown in full lines of Fig. 1 or in the position shown in dotted lines of Fig. 1. When in the position shown in the full lines of Fig. 1 the thumb latch 27 will engage with the lower end or surface of the lug 30 and will thereby be prevented from pushing upwardly on t-he extension 25 of the hub lever 16. It will be seen thatiipwardY pressure on the lower end of the lug 30 will tend to rotate the lug in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. l, as the pivot 3l of the lug is slightly to the right of the thumb latch 2". The lug 30 is prevented from moving farther in the direction indiacted by a means to be described, this means being incorporated with the means which moves the lug 30 from one position to the other.

Pivoted at 32,` to the cover plate 10d of case l0, we have shown a lever 33 of the configuration shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This lever rests upon a suitable friction surface 10e, being held down more or less tightly by the rivet head on its pivot 32. One end of the lever 33 projects through a suitable slot 34: in face plate 11, the end 35 of lever 33 being formed into a suitable piece to be engaged by the thumb or finger of the operator. The other end of lever 33 is provided with a suitable slot 36 which engages a pin 37 set in the lug 30, the pin and slot making a suitable connection between the lever and lug whereby the movement of the lever Vwill cause the movement of the lug between the two positions shown in Fig. l. The frictional engagement of the lever on surface 34 will always keep the lever and the lug 30 in whatever position they are placed, preventing the lug- 30 from falling from one position to another.

It will be seen that the foregoing mechanism supplies a simple and efficient means of providing a thumb latch combination which may be easily thrown into o'r out of operation. The stop lug 30 is an effectivemeans of preventing the operation of the thumb latch; continued or increased pressure on the thumb latch will simply result in the stop lug 30 remaining in its proper position. As mentioned above, the pressure on the thumb latch tends to rotate theY stop lug in the direction indicated, which rotation is limited by the action of the pin 37 ind slot 36 of `lever33. f

1n Fig. l we have shown a modified form of arrangement wherein the stop lug 30a has a pin 371L which engages in a slot 36a in the end of a push rod 50 which connects directly with a push button 51a. There is another similar push button 52 and the two buttonsare connected together by a suitable walking beam 53 so that when one button is pushed inwardly the other will be pushed outwardly. A suitable friction spring 54; provides for holding the system in whatever position it is placed. It will be yseen that the construction and operation of this form of the device is practically the same as hereinbefore described, with the exception of the manually .operable means for moving the stop lugs 30, the pins or buttons 51a. and 52a taking Vthe place of the formerly described operating lever.

In Fig. 6 we have shown another Vform of' stop lug 30b mounted on push rod 50b which connects Ydirectly with the push button 52h. The push button 52b is connected by a walking beam 53b to the push button 51", the two buttons operating in the manner hereinbefore described.V The stop lug 3()b merely slides in longitudinally over the thumb latch 27D to the position shown, stopping tlie upward movement of the thumb latch and thus rendering it impossible to move the hub lever 16h through the medium of the latch. It will be noticed, however, that the hub lever may be moved either by the hub or bythe operation 4of the mechanism which moves the dead bolt 12.

In Fig. 7 we have shown a still further y modified form of device, in which the lever 33Cvis attached by pin 6() to a suitable wheel or sector 61 which is pivoted at 62 to the frame 10C. The wheel or sector 61 is arranged so that it may be easily rotatedby the thumb or finger, causing the movement of the stop lug 30C.

It will be seen that all of these various constructions have this feature in common;

that when the thumb latchk is prevented from operation and when itis thus impossible to operate the latch bolt in this manner from the Voutside of the door, the latch bolt may still be operated freely by movement of the hub lever through any agency other than the thumb latch. 1n

other words, the lock operates precisely in` its normal manner, the thumb latch being controlled independently as described.

Having described our invention, we claim,

l. 1n combination, a mortise lock mechanism having a latch bolt, a hub, and a hub lever operating the latch bolt; a lower eX- tension of the hub lever, a thumb latch engageable withL said extension to operate the hub lever, means adapted to be thrown into the path of the thumb latch and prevent its lever operating movement, and means manually operable at the mortise face of the lock to move the-means preventing the movement of the thumb latch.

nisni having a-latch bolt, a hub, and a hub lever operating the latch bolt; a lower extensionofthe hub lever, a thumb latch engageable with said extension to operate the hub lever, a movable stop lug, and means manually operable at the mortise face of the tension of the hub lever, a thumb latch engageable with said extension to operate 130 iso klock to move said lug into the path of the Y V 2. 1n combination, a mortise lock mechathe hub lever, a stop lug pivoted above the thumb latch, and means manually operable at the mortise face of the lock to rotate said lug into and out of the path of the thumb latch. n

4. In combination, a mortise lock mechanism having a latch bolt, a hub, and a hub lever operating the latch bolt; aloWer eXtension of the hub lever, a thumb latch engageable With said extension to operate the hub lever, a stop lug pivoted above the thumb latch, a lever pivoted medially and connected at one end by pin and slot arrangement to the stop lug and manually engageable means at the other end of the lever at the mortise face of the lock.

5. In combination, a lock mechanism having a latch bolt, a hub, and a hub lever` operating the latch bolt; a thumb latch engageable With the hub lever to operate it a pivoted lever` connected to and the latch bolt, and means manually operable to be thrown into the path of the thumb latch and prevent its lever operating movement.

6. In a device of the character described, a latch bolt operating lever, a thumb latch adapted to engage and operate the lever, a stop lug pivoted above the thumb latch, and said stop lug at one end and manually engageable at the other.

In Witness that We claim the foregoing We have hereunto subscribed our names this 3rd day of July 1912.

W. A. RUSSELL. A. GRANT WEISER.

Witnesses:

ELWooD I-I. BARKELEW, JAMES T. BARKELEW.

Copies of vthis patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

